Corruption Currents: From Classroom Training to Online-Dating Scams

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Bribery:

Mike Lucas

The proposed dropping of a case against Finmeccanica SpA won’t affect the probe into alleged bribery surrounding the Indian purchase of helicopters from its AgustaWestland unit, an agency report said. (PTI)

Indonesian prosecutors want a disgraced governor to receive 10 years in prison for bribery. Her lawyers intend to fight the request. (Jakarta Globe)

The son of an Indian godman requested bail in a case alleging he conspired to bribe police and judicial officials to weaken allegations of rape against him. He didn’t appear to be contacted. (PTI)

Nepalese officials are investigating allegations of bribery involving the construction of a toilet at the prime minister’s official residence. (ekantipur)

Journalists in the Philippines are enraged over bribery allegations. (Sun Star)

The executive director of Transparency International UK wrote to the Financial Times to say bribery laws are only as good as their enforcement.

How did Heartbleed change the way banks deal with cyber issues? (American Banker)

The Washington Post editorial board says Congress is overdue on dealing with the threat of cybercrime.

Why does one of cybersecurity’s top leaders use a pager instead of a cellphone? (Washington Post)

A weapons maker will teach U.K. students about cyberwarfare. (Daily Dot)

Money Laundering:

Australia will use funds seized in organized crime cases to form a team of forensic accountants to track illicit finance. Separately, the country’s consumer regulator will join with anti-money laundering agents to crack down on online-dating scams. (Daily Telegraph, AAP)

Standard Chartered PLC will soon begin sifting through a mountain of data for signs of possible money laundering or other criminal activity as a result of faults in the software in its anti-money laundering compliance program, two sources told Reuters. The bank declined to comment.

Singapore sees no evidence that wealthy people are shifting funds from Europe to Asia in order to escape rules on tax avoidance and money-laundering. (Financial Times sub req)

Money laundering through Gibraltar is on the rise, the European Union said. (Typically Spanish, Daily Telegraph)

Chinese regulators started cracking down on money laundering carried out through the purchase of online insurance products. (WantChina Times)

Pakistan’s government defined tax evasion as money laundering under its criminal code. (The Nation, Pakistan Today)

Washington is leaning on a U.S.-designated foreign terror organization for help saving the Yazidis and fighting ISIS. (Washington Post, McClatchy)

Latvia stands to lose at least $94 million in food exports to Russia under the import ban recently imposed by Moscow. The EU plans to talk to Latin American countries in a bid to convince them not to fill the gap from Europe’s barred agriculture exports to Russia, is struggling to pay peach growers and is trying to limit the effects of the import ban, which is also affecting pork farmers. (WSJ, Financial Times sub req, BBC, Reuters, BBC)

Germany’s economic backbone is bending due to the loss in Russia sales. (Bloomberg)

Could Western sanctions on Russia crimp its ability to export gas to China? (RFA)

Ukraine adopted a law that would enable the country to impose sanctions against foreign individuals and companies. (WSJ)

Russian banks shrugged off worries about sanctions cutting into their ability to raise capital. (WSJ Moneybeat)

Tehran once again denied making an oil-for-goods deal with Russia. But what would such a deal look like? Meanwhile, the Iranian president said to hell with his nuclear critics. (FNA, Iran Matters, Al Monitor, AP)

The latest on the scandal of New York’s shuttered anti-graft panel is here and here. The latest in a corruption trial of a former Virginia governor and his wife is here. (Capital NY, Politico Magazine, NY Times)

Under the ASU, inventory is “measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value,” which eliminates the need to determine replacement cost and evaluate whether it is above the ceiling net realizable value or below the floor. The FASB did not amend other guidance on measuring inventory, such as the LIFO, FIFO and average cost method. In addition to reducing complexity, the proposal would make U.S. GAAP more comparable to IFRS.

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